driftfleet | Iskaulit mingle

[Natasha hasn't been avoiding Mon-El, but she hasn't sought him out again either and with one thing and the other, she hasn't seen much of him lately.

Considering how much time Natasha spends at the gym, it's not exactly strange that's where they run into each other.

And she absolutely saw what he did there.]

Try to leave a few of them for those of us without super strength.

[He turns at the voice and looks appropriately sheepish.] I didn't realize it was different from the others. Hi.

[Smiling at her. He'd thought about looking her up again a couple of times, but he thought he knew how it might go and he wasn't sure it was a good idea the first time even though it was also great. Not that it would definitely end up that way or that he had no control over that, but well, then things also got busy with the being attacked and Kara being in a coma, which isn't so much busy, but on his mind. It's nice to know she's awake again.]

[Natasha returns the smile, not actually all that bothered. She's known plenty of people who were awful hard on their exercise equipment.]

Luckily, I think we can replace it.

[She does investigate the damage, though.]

I don't see you around here much.

I come to the ship a lot, but I'm usually in one of the bars. I figured since I had the powers back it might be good to figure them out again so I don't accidentally break anything. [Eyes falling to the broken punching bag.] My plan had a problem in it.

Oh, I don't know about that. I'd call that proof of concept.

[Clearly, he does need some practice to get things under control.]

True. But in my defense, that punching bag was asking for it. It was giving me nasty looks ever since I walked in here. [Smiling.]

I think it's learned its lesson about picking fights.

[Which probably makes it the only thing in the fleet that has.]

So now I have to ask: just how strong are you with your powers?

I'm glad we worked that out then. [Smile.]

Winn would probably have a better idea because he'd walk around with a clipboard writing things down as I punched stuff, but a lot stronger than I was without them. Punching large dents into metal? [Which still doesn't say much since you'd have to know what kind of metal and how thick it was, but it looked impressive to him at the time.]

[Natasha does notice that omission. Plenty of people without powers could put a large dent in the hood of a light weight car. Not so much the hull of a ship. There's a lot of room for variation there.]

So you're telling me you don't really know how strong you are? That's gonna make this a challenge.

...Make what a challenge?

Figuring out what kind of a workout you should have.

[She shakes her head.]

To avoid more casualties.

You're going to train me? [He laughs softly, not because he thinks she can't. Furthest thought from his mind. He just wasn't expecting it.] Okay, what do you want me doing?

[Natasha hadn't actually thought of it that way, but when he says it... well, he's not wrong. She shrugs.]

I don't know that I could train you, but... give you a few pointers, at least.

I will follow where you point.

How about we start by going back to the last bag. See what you've got for it.

As hard as I can? [He's a little skeptical, but those bags were made for people with such powers.]

It can take it. Probably.

[Natasha shrugs.]

And if it can't, that'll tell us something too.

That we should leave and pretend we were never here? [He smiles but then he gives the bag a solid punch and it swings back, but it stays intact. They were well designed and constructed.]

Just give it a shot.

[Natasha watches, taking in his form as much as his strength. Maybe more, even.]

Not bad. I think you may have done this before.

Kara was training me on Earth, so I could control my powers. She also wanted me to be a hero.

She wanted you to be a hero. [That is a very specific word choice.] And you?

[There's a lot of embracing "hero" as a term and concept on Earth he's found. It's like an occupation that doesn't pay you.]

And I wasn't sure if that was for me.

[Natasha has a complicated relationship with the term herself.]

That's fair. It's not for everyone. And even for people who get into it, doesn't always mean the same thing.

How fast are you?

I feel like you're going to be disappointed if I say very fast. [He smiles.]

What do you mean by it not meaning the same thing? [Curious.]

I was hoping for something a little more specific.

[As for his question, Natasha sighs, considering how to answer. She hasn't exactly got into her past with him. She's not sure she wants to change that. At the same time, she can guess what being a hero means for Kara, and how that might not work for everyone.]

And what I mean is that for some people, say my friend Steve or Kara, it's something they're driven to do. They have this... moral imperative. They have power, and they feel like the right thing to do is to use it to help people. To protect people who can't protect themselves. It's just... in them.

Other people... maybe they have something to prove. Or a sense of responsibility.

For some people, helping is a way to make up for their sins. Balance the scales.

[She considers his face a moment before asking:] You follow?

Gym

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